Ethics panel: Hardeeville complaint has merit

COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Ethics Commission found there is probable cause to move forward with Scott Ready’s conflict of interest complaint against the Hardeeville Municipal Election Commission.

The ethics commission will send notice of hearing to Joyce Meeks, chair of the local election commission and mother-in-law of incumbent councilman Roy Powell.

A Sept. 19 hearing is expected, said Cathy Hazelwood, deputy director of the state ethics commission. There are several complaints to be heard on that date, so the agenda items could change, she said.

Ready said Thursday that he is looking forward to the issue coming to a conclusion so the community can focus on the future.

“It means that an ethical approach to politics in Hardeeville is being sought after. My goal in this is to ensure that proper procedure is being adhered to so that everyone in Hardeeville is able to be served,” Ready said.”

When asked Thursday if she thought the ethics commission’s decisions would affect the work of the election commission, Meeks said she thought the situation was over because Ready had said he was not going to do anything following the action by the appeals court to allow him to be a candidate.

Meeks said she had not heard anything about the ethics commission’s ruling and setting a hearing date for the fall.

The September hearing is the next time rules of conduct cases will be heard by the ethics commission, Hazelwood said.

“There are 10 such cases so the date is not written in stone. The notice to Meeks is in her role as a public member of the municipal election commission,” Hazelwood said. “Whether the whole commission comes or not is up to her. They would be her eye witnesses.”

Upon receipt of the notice, Meeks will see a list of allegations that the ethics commission has found in examining and investigating Ready’s complaint.

“Ms. Meeks can retain counsel, she could not retain counsel. She can seek the contents of the file and do discovery or she can negotiate a consent order,” said Hazelwood. “If there is a hearing, I will call witnesses, she can question them, she can provide witnesses. Then the three-member panel will make a decision.”

Hazelwood said a consent order was an acknowledgement that you violated the statute, similar to a plea bargain in a criminal court though this is not criminal court.

The ethics commission cannot remove the members of an election commission from their posts but there may be penalties imposed.

“In general it’s $2,000 for each violation, a public reprimand and an administrative fine for the cost of the investigation,” Hazelwood said. “That’s what can happen. To have the full brunt of the law means you didn’t show up. The commission is going to listen to any respondent and give some benefit of the doubt. The whole point is to come in and tell your side.”

The background

On May 8, Ready won his bid for City Council.

In March, the local election commission disqualified Ready because of an error he made on his Statement of Economic Interest form, which is a public reporting requirement intended to provide transparency about a candidate’s financial status and potential conflicts of interest.

On April 3, a 14th Judicial Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Ready’s disqualification and allowed him to be on the ballot. On March 16, Ready appealed the issue to the State Ethics Commission, arguing, in part, that the local election commission’s decision to disqualify him had been marred by a conflict of interest.

If Ready had not run, there would have been no election for City Council and incumbents Michael Sweeney and Powell would have won re-election by virtue of being the only contenders.